Low-Income Housing Assistance Block Grant

The federal government funds numerous housing assistance programs that provide direct assistance to low-income individuals through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture — primarily by subsidizing rental units in the private housing market. The largest housing assistance programs are Section 8 rental assistance, direct Public Housing for beneficiaries, Hope VI public housing stock rehabilitation, and Homeless Assistance.

Section 8 housing vouchers and project-based rental assistance accounted for 43 percent of all housing and development spending in FY2009. The voucher component of Section 8 by itself is one of the 10 largest low-income programs.57

The Public Housing program — which pays the operating costs of publicly-owned housing and makes the units available to low-income individuals and families — accounted for 18 percent of spending in this category in FY2009.58

The HOPE VI program pays for the costs of demolishing, rehabilitating and replacing distressed public housing units. Other housing programs provide loans to state and local governments or private entities to build or finance low-income public housing or to otherwise support and expand the supply of housing for low-income elderly and disabled households.59

Homeless Assistance Grants target the needs of homeless individuals and families (including those with disabilities) for basic shelter, short-term and long-term housing, and related support services.60

Additional federal programs provide funding to rehabilitate, modify, repair and demolish individual low-income residences; provide services to public housing tenants; or provide emergency shelter.61 However, programs that principally focus on providing loans to individuals to purchase housing or to refinance existing mortgages are not part of the funding or the programs proposed as a low-income housing block grant to the states.

A total of 46 programs, costing over $35 billion in FY2011, comprise the block grant as proposed. This does not include the federal government’s costs to administer the programs.